English Premier
2012-01-02 - Fulham vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Monday 2 January 2011 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Fulham
Martin Jol has helped steer his side to two positive results since the 0-5 hammering at the hands of Manchester United at Craven Cottage. Fulham may have been a little unfortunate not to have grabbed more than 2 points from their last couple of away games, especially after conceding a last minute equaliser to Norwich City in their final game in 2011.
The draw at Norwich means Fulham are in 14th place in the Premier League, gaining 20 points from their opening 19 games this season and meaning they are 5 points clear of Wigan in the final relegation spot. Fulham have not been as dominant at Craven Cottage so far this season as they had been under the guidance of Roy Hodgson and Mark Hughes and they are 3-3-3 there so far, scoring 14 goals and conceding 14.
Fulham have drawn their last 2 games 1-1, and their fans would have been very pleased with the draw earned at Chelsea on Boxing Day. However, it does mean they have won just 1 of their last 5 Premier League games, although Fulham had won back to back games at Craven Cottage in the League before the loss to Manchester United.
Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are both expected to be moving on in the January transfer window- Zamora is a major doubt for this game, while Johnson should be available for selection if Martin Jol desires.
Arsenal
The last couple of rounds of Premier League action have been very strange in all honesty, although Arsenal did take advantage of being the only side in the top 5 to win this past weekend. Robin Van Persie finished with 35 goals in 2011 and will be hoping to kick off 2012 in similar fashion.
Arsenal took advantage of Chelsea's surprise loss at home on Saturday to move into 4th place in the Premier League table and they also closed the gap to Tottenham in 3rd place to just 3 points. The Gunners are 4-1-4 away from the Emirates Stadium this season, scoring 19 goals and conceding 20, meaning they have one of the best away attacks in the League and also one of the worst away defences so far.
The team have not been in great form of late, despite picking up points- they have picked up 14 points from the last 21 available but performances have not really matched those results. Arsenal have actually won 4 of their last 5 away games in the Premier League, the only exception being a loss at Manchester City, and they have scored at least 2 goals in each of their wins.
With the injury problems in defence for Arsene Wenger, he would not have been happy to see Thomas Vermaelan limp off at the weekend and thus being ruled out for this game. Johan Djourou's return to the side will be at least some good news for Arsenal.
Head to Head
Arsenal and Fulham drew 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season.
Fulham drew 2-2 with Arsenal here last season, the first time they had drawn at Craven Cottage in 10 games here.
Prediction
This is the live evening game for us to enjoy on Monday night and I think it will be one with a few goals being shared around.
Fulham were awful when they lost to Manchester United at home recently, but they have performed better since then and should cause Arsenal a few problems with the defensive issues the Gunners are having.
Arsenal themselves should be able to create chances against the Fulham backline that has looked a little vulnerable in recent games and one that gave Norwich plenty of opportunities to score last time out.
With that being said, I will look for goals in this games and back the Over 2.5 Goals at just under odds against.
The Statistics :
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FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.95
